


Rabid Fox

by MissTantabis



Series: Tumblr Stories [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternative Outcome, Drabble, Fluff and Angst, Jamie Campbell Bower as Gellert Grindelwald, M/M, Young Dumbledore, Young Gellert Grindelwald, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 06:54:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9872459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissTantabis/pseuds/MissTantabis
Summary: Gellert Grindelwald comes to visit Albus after he is not following up with a promise he made towards his friend. The conversation turns into an aggressive fight as Aberforth speaks up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This drabbel was requested by thedarklordofslytherin on Tumblr. I just updated it a bit and corrected a few errors.

There was a loud knock at the door. Albus, who had been reading the last few hours, looked up. A low sigh escaped his lips. Who had knocked? It was so early. He carefully pushed his glasses up his long and slender nose. Blue eyes sparkled worriedly between strands of deepred hair. Was he fearing he knew who knocked? Was he expecting someone? Still he should not stay here and let the guest wait. That would be impolite. “I’ll go and check!”, he called in the direction of the staircase, knowing his brother was there with Ariana.

Albus stood up and approached the door. When he opened it to the visitor, his face changed into clear concern. Before him stood a slender figure, wearing a black cloak, the hood deep in his face. Two eyes glimmered underneath the shadows, one blue like the sky in winter the other one black like spilled ink. The figure had buried his hands in his pocket's, head lowered. Despite most of his face being concealed, Albus recognised him at once. He had seen this person countless times.

“Hey, Albus”, said the figure. It was a male with a soothing, calm and determinded voice. "May I come in?" _What are you doing here? Why are you here?_ So many questions in his mind. And to answer them he had to let the visitor in. And in his guts he was not entirely looking forwards to this. Albus shook his head and merely stepped aside. He watched the figure enter. Rain dropped from its cloak. The presence caused Albus to feel uncertain and anxious. He should be happy to see the other one, but he feared he knew in his heart why this visitor was here. Apparently his silence had not gone unnoticed as he had hoped.

“Gellert, what are you doing here?”, asked Albus, “Don’t you have somewhere to be tonight?” His questions were vague and his voice thin. He closed the door behind himself. Albus felt himself trying to step on one place like someone whose legs were aching and feeling numb. His eyes kept darting around. To Gellert, to the staircase, to the door. Halfheartedly Albus expected Aberforth to come downstairs. He prayed his brother would not come. He and Gellert never got along.

Albus watched the figure pull of his hood. Underneath it a young man with goldbrown locks was revealed. He had an angel-like face with smooth cheekbones and elegant brows. His stature as Albus knew was slender and incredibley thin. Despite this small flaw, Albus found the other man to be rather charming and handsome. Gellert stared at him, his brows furrowing over his eyes. One of them was as blue as the winter's sky, while the other one was a dropp of ink in his face. They were sparkling in a mixture of mischief, but also frustration? Disappointment? Anger? It was hard to tell.

“How are you, Albus?”, asked Gellert calmly. “Busy.” Albus did not look at the other man when he spoke. His voice was short and quick like the chirping of a bird. The blonde man approached him. “I don’t understand”, he explained the reason why he was here, “We had an agreement! We wanted to find the Hallows together. At the end of this summer. And yet, you don’t reply to my letters. You don’t come to visit me. I thought, this was important to you.”

“It is, Gellert. I know, this is important. It’s just…” - Albus wrung his hands, lost for words - “I do have a responsibility towards my family as well. Ariana has been getting worse. My brother says he cannot handle her on his own. I should be there for my sister, Gellert.” He shook his head. Albus had feared that Gellert would bring this subject up. It would have been odd if he did not. His best friend was a rather blunt person. He always said what sprang into his head, no matter the consequences.

The other one rolled his eyes, a gesture Albus was familiar with by now. It meant disapproval or disagreement even though the other one never stated this. “Don’t you know that what we do, will help her?”, Gellert asked, “Your sister is forced to hide who she is. There are thousands of cases like hers! If we have the Hallows, we can become the masters of death. We can lead the wizards into a new age. An age, where hiding is a thing of the past. An age, where the Muggles finally see how true their fairy tales really are.” Gellert caught Albus’ hands. “I was willing to share this with you. Does the Greater Good mean nothing to you all of a sudden? Do I suddenly mean nothing?”

How fast your heart could beat! Untill it took your breath away. The fingers around his palm felt soft and tender. They barely graced his skin, even though the redhaired wizard knew they could hold on thight if must be. Albus did not know what to do or to say. Gellert…there was something hypnotising and fascinating about him. They were equals in their minds and skills. And Albus had never seen a man more beautifull. But now he was uncertain. He knew Aberforth did not like Gellert and he knew he had a duty for his family. After all he was the head of this family. And with that came a certain responsibility. A responsibility he had run from for quite some time. But could he go against his own friend?

“Gellert”, responded Albus and carefully closed his fingers around the hands of the other one, “I don’t mean it that way. Please, never assume that I do not care about you. I do! You are my best friend. But Ariana really is not feeling well. She has sudden outbursts, Gellert. And they are getting more. They are destructive and they scare her. They scare her and they scare my brother, and to be honest, they scare me as well. It would be heartless if I leave my brother alone now. I don’t want to have to make a choice. Please, don’t think I am trying to rank you and my sister! This is completely impossible. You both mean so much to me. In your own ways.”

Before Gellert could reply to that, a voice could be heard: “What’s he doing here?” The tone was distastefull and grumpy. Both men looked up. There on the staircase stood a redhaired man with green eyes, narrowed in fury. He had a small moustache and a pointy, red beard. His clothes were less elegant then Albus' and he had a certain smell of goat wavering around him. Aberforth Dumbledore slowly came downstairs. Despite not being the head of the house, his body language clearly showed one thing: Gellert was not welcomed here.

“Is it now forbidden to visit a friend?”, Gellert cut in and let go of Albus’ hands. He took a few steps backwards. The Dumbledore brothers and Grindelwald now were forming some kind of triangle, with Albus literally feeling like he was trapped in the middle. The wizard gazed between his brother and his friend. Aberforth's hands were formed into loose fists and his jaw was clenched. He looked at Grindelwald as if he was expecting the worst. The blonde man himself had crossed his arms and lifted his head a bit as if he meant to spit at the other one. His eyes were slightly closed and a confident, almost cocky smile played around his lips.

Gellert explained: “I wanted to know why Albus has stopped contacting me. I wanted to ask him if he will help me in my, in _our_ search for the Deathly Hallows. We had an agreement. He promised to help me.” Aberforth barked: “Well, he is not leaving! His family needs him. And I won’t let Albus run off after some odd myth and weird ideas that have zero ground.” He shook his head, huffing in disdain. "This is irresponsible what you are doing. I won't have it."

“Aberforth, please -!”, called Albus and tried to move between them. He could tell that the situation was on the brick of escalation. The anger and tension laid in the air so strongly he could taste it on his lips like sharp pepper. “Du hast keine Ahnung, wovon du redest!” Gellert’s voice had risen.  His head shot upwards and his golden locks danced from sharp breaths. Parts of the composer Albus knew in his friend were gone and his eyes narrowed, seemed to glow in rage, “Don’t judge what you don’t know, du Muttersöhnchen!”

Before Albus knew what was happening, Gellert had drawn out his wand, a twisted, thorny thing. It lashed through the air as a non-verbal spell shot out of it, white like dead skin. As soon as it hit Aberforth in the chest, his younger brother howled like a dog, which had been kicked. He collapsed on the floor, muscles twitching and bending over in pain. The spell kept him in chains, made him scream and howl. He lashed on the floor, grabbing for something no one knew with his hands. His eyes filled with tears of agony. The screams were loud howls, one shriller and more bloodcurling then the next.

 _That’s an Unforgiveable Curse!_ Albus’ eyes widened in terror. He knew Gellert was a skilled magician, however this was dark territory indeed. He could not bear to see this! His best friend was tormenting his brother. _No!_ This was where he drew the line. He had always supported Grindelwald, even defended his mischivious and sometimes very questionable behaivour. But hurting a family member like that. No, it had to stopp. _Do something, Albus!_ “Gellert, stopp!” Albus rushed over and grasped at his friend’s wand. His fingers closed around the wrist and as he pushed it down, the curse was stopped.

Albus was white as chalk in the face. The shock still sat deep in his bones and flesh. His heart skipped a few beats. He wanted to pull Grindelwald away, hold him back. Gellert’s eyes were narrowed. Huffing he stared at Aberforth, who was panting and groaning on the floor. His face then turned to Albus. He angrily pushed his arm free. “I say”, he called, “Your sister can take care of herself just fine! Your brother is just jealous of what we are doing here! Simply because he is too dull to understand it!”

“Gellert, stopp it, please”, responded Albus. He rushed over to Aberfoth and helped the other one on his trembling feeth. His brother was white, covered in sweat and he inhaled the air as if there was no tomorrow. His muscles felt tense under Albus' hand and he winced a bit as his brother took a hold of his arm and used it to pull himself up. “I can’t believe you call this man your friend”, he stammered. His voice was drained from pain. “Can’t you see what a monster he is?” “Your brother has more susperstition then anything else”, murmured Grindelwald carelessly.

Aberforth angrily drew out his wand as well. Albus rose his wand and said: “I urge you, Gellert. Please, understand that what I am doing, I do out of love. Leave for today. Just so we can all calm down. I promise, I will get back to you. It does not have to end in a fight.” _Please don't do this to me_ , his eyes begged, _I don't want to fight you. I don't want to spill blood in my own family's house. You are my friend. Don't do this to me!_

Gellert rose his wand as well. He changed his foothing. His feet touched the ground lightly and he now resembled a cat that was ready to pounce. There was something in his look Albus could not name. But it was dark. Darker then anything he had ever seen. Gellert's voice was cold as he responded: “Don’t you know that love is the most destructive force of all? For to love is to destroy and to be loved is to be destroyed! There is nothing in between.” And with these words, Grindelwald waved his wand over his head and fired a spell, green like snake’s venom.

Albus and Aberforth instantly contered with disarming charms. Red, violet, green. The entire place flashed in the coloures as the three wizards swirled around each other. Their wands bashed around, three blurry lines of brown and black. The air became an electric energy to it. They were viciously duelling each other. It was nothing ordered. Just chaos and destruction.  Again and again the older of the Dumbledore brothers was forced to throw up a shield, because Gellert threw so many spells at once, forming a glimmering net of curses that wanted to skin them. He was designing their death, sketching it out, before he wanted to paint it in deeper colours. Albus panted. His hair was singed at its tips. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Aberforth besides him. His brother’s beard was smoking. Gellert himself had a bleeding lip. Eyes, flaring in rage and determination. Albus had never seen his friend like this. He was cold, he was precise and he was out for the kill. There was no other option in his eyes.

It made Albus’ blood run cold. In fear for himself, in fear for his brother, but also in fear for Grindelwald himself. How could this man, this person he called a friend, charming and gentle, turn into such a savage beast? It was like facing a fox that was bond to a trapp. It would jump around, eyes flaring and saliva around its sharp fangs, viciously biting at anything that came in its way. The rabies fox. Gellert was having just that. For what else could it be? He burned for his ideals and he would go great lengths to achieve them. What had happened that made the man be like this? And why had he never seen it? Or had he seen it? And just closed his eyes before it? The ignorance of youth. A curse and a blessing at the same time. Gellert had always been the more mature one. The one with the scared heart.

Then something unexpected happened. In the middle of the fight, in its most heated moment, when Albus believed they would end up tearing each other appart, he noticed something. Shy, carefull and deeply afraid Ariana appeared on the staircase. Golden hair, big blue eyes, a natural beauty. The child with the purest heart. The one, he wanted to protect. She stood there, frozen in shock for a moment and just gazed at them. Disbelief, shock and panic in her eyes. And worry. So much worry for her brothers. And so much love. Despite being mentally deranged she had always loved them. Albus feared that she could get hit for the spells were flying very high, crashing against the celling, tickling over the chandelier.

“Stopp it!”, called Ariana and rushed downstairs, her eyes were wide in fear and worry, “Stopp it! Please!” Her hands were lifted as if she wanted to make them calm down. Her voice sounded so thin and gentle compared to the heat of the fight. It looked like she wanted to go between them, push them away. “Ariana!”, shouted Albus as he dodged another curse, which melted the glass of a mirror on the wall, “Stay back! Go upstairs again!” _Please! You will get hurt!_

But Ariana was not leaving. In fact she was coming closer and when they were not calming down or stopping their fight, an odd flinch went through her body, a grimace in her face, a quiver near her lips. They all suddenly heard a dreadfull scream, blood curling. The sound was high and shrill as if it could cut through glass alone. There was a flash of white in his sister’s eyes and then an explosion and smoke shook the entire place. The force was so immense that Albus, Aberforth and Gellert were tossed through the room like pebbles. The sound deafened Albus and for a brief moment he was not sure where was up and where was down. All he could feel was this immense power, the smoke biting into his eyes, the splintering of wood. He thought he could hear Aberforth grunt in shock and Gellert shouting, but maybe this was only happening in his head.

“Arrrghhhss.” Albus groaned in pain as his back hit the opposite wall. He dropped down. Panting the redhaired wizard looked around. The silence after the explosion was defeaning. It left an eerie chill on him. Something was wrong. Deadly wrong. The place was a mess. Chairs shred to pieces, carpets return, more windows shattered. The glass shards laid on the floor. A cool breeze moved the rags of fabric. Albus whipped a bit dust from his trousers. Aberforth was half trapped underneath a fallen down chair. Ariana laid a few inches before that.

“Brother.” Albus pulled himself up. He flinched in pain. His left foot was numb and felt as if he had sprained it during the fall. Limping he hurried over to the table and with a wave of his wand cleared the chair away. His brother groaned and moaned. His head shook as he tried to gather some orientation, eyes closed to protect them from the splintered wood that partly stuck in his face. He felt around. "Albus?", he croaked hoarsely, "Is that you?" “I am here.” Albus grabbed Aberforth’s hand and pulled him up. He whipped over his face. "I am here, Aberforth. Are you okay? You are not hurt, aren't you?" Aberforth shook his head dismissivley. "I am fine. Just a bit confused. What about Ariana?”, asked his brother, “Is she alright?”

They hurried over to the girl, which just stirred. Gasping the blonde woman opened her eyes. She began to whimper and shudder. Her hands wandered around like a child, begging to be picked up. Aberforth immediatley bent down. "Ariana", he whispered, "Thank goodness, you are alright." Ariana had tears in her eyes as she clung to Aberforth, who pulled her close. “What just happened?”, she stammered. She buried her face in her brother's shoulder and cried like a child.  “I didn’t want to…didn’t mean to… I am so, so sorry!” “Schhh”, Aberforth cooed and combed her hair, “Everything is alright. Calm down. You are safe. Nobody is angry at you. It was an accident, nothing more. Easy, Ariana. Breath. In and out, in and out...”

A hiss and snarl made them turn their heads. Albus watched Gellert come to his feet as well. He was groaning and flinching painfully. Their looks immediatley fell on his face.  _Oh my god!_ Albus could not conceal his shock and neither did Aberforth. They both stared at Gellert in a mixture of terror, disgust and maybe the hints of pity and disbelief. The blonde man had hold his face for a couple of seconds before he slowly lowered his hands. Albus heard his friend gasp as the realisation hit him. Then Grindelwald started to smile. His black eye found Ariana and he chuckled darkly. His smile looked grotesque. “What did I tell you?” His blue eye was reduced to a deep, bloody gash. “Ariana can take care of herself just fine.”

* * *

Gellert's german sentences translate into:

"You have no idea what you are talking about!"

"[...], you mothersoni."


End file.
